Houthis Block Delivery of Cancer Drugs to Yemeni Patients
SMA NEWS – Sana’a
Medics and human rights activists are accusing Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen of blocking the delivery of treatment provided by international organization to cancer patients in the war-torn country.
Houthis are seizing cancer medicines sent by relief groups and selling them for profit on the black market, sources revealed.
“The Iran-aligned group continues to exploit and trade with the suffering and pain of thousands of cancer patients living in its areas of control with estimates showing the number of cancer cases rising to 60,000,” they said.
Coup militants are trading with expensive treatments originally provided to Yemeni patients suffering from incurable diseases for free, sources added, explaining that Houthis are reaping the profits of selling the specialized drugs on the black market.
SAM for Rights and Liberties, a non-profit organization founded by a group of human rights activists, academics and professionals in Europe, reported on Yemeni cancer patients being forced to illegally purchase treatment.
“Thousands of cancer patients in Yemen are forced to search on the black market for essential drugs for their health,” SAM said in a Facebook post.
The World Health Organization (WHO), for its part, had released multiple statements on thousands of cancer patients basically being handed a death sentence in Yemen and reported on a crippling shortage of drugs.
“Houthis deliberately delay the arrival of various types of treatments and medicines provided by foreign organizations to Yemeni patients. The group claims that it needs to conduct examination and follow-up operations before allowing the delivery of the drugs,” sources at the Houthi-styled health ministry told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“The key goal of this obstruction is to allow Houthi merchants who smuggle medicines, mostly from Iran, to sell their products at exorbitant prices,” sources added.
Dozens of cancer patients in Sanaa and other cities under Houthi control are complaining that many of the medicines and treatments that were previously provided to them for free have gone missing.
